The statement from Under Secretary of State Steve Goldstein strongly suggests Tillerson found out about his firing from Twitter — though it differs from published accounts of the decision citing unnamed White House sources.

"The Secretary did not speak to the President this morning and is unaware of the reason, but he is grateful for the opportunity to serve, and still believes strongly that public service is a noble calling and not to be regretted," Goldstein said in a statement.

Goldstein also said that Tillerson had "every intention of staying" before his firing.

"He established and enjoyed relationships with his counterparts. He will miss his colleagues at the Department of State and enjoyed working together with the Department of Defense in an uncommonly robust relationship," he said.

Two U.S. officials say the White House has fired one of Rex Tillerson’s top aides after he contradicted the official account of the secretary of state’s dismissal by President Donald Trump.

The officials said Steve Goldstein, the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, was informed of the move shortly after he released a statement in his name saying that Tillerson was “unaware of the reason” for his termination. Goldstein had also told reporters that Tillerson learned of his firing Tuesday morning from Trump’s tweet announcing he was nominating CIA chief Mike Pompeo to lead the State Department.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about personnel moves. Goldstein could not immediately be reached for comment.

Quotedeckeda
Trump doesn't actually want a Department of State. They just get in the way of whatever he wants to do.

And with how his administration is reducing the size of the Federal government, he's likely to win that 2-3% of the Libertarian party vote he didn't win the first time around. He saw the numbers and thinks if he wins the Libertarians next time around he will have Hillary beat for sure!